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Robinson leads Nuggets past Raptors

Dec 1, 2013 - 8:57 PM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Nate Robinson led the Nuggets' vaunted bench with 23 points and Denver pulled away for a 112-98 decision over the Toronto Raptors to earn their sixth straight victory.

Denver's reserves outscored Toronto's by a wide 72-16 margin, with Timofey Mozgov and Darrell Arthur donating 16 and 14 points, respectively, in the win.

"Our bench has to give us something," implored Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. "Our guys have to get tougher defensively."

Mozgov also grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds while Kenneth Faried finished with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Nuggets, who shot 51 percent from the field and made 10 3-pointers.

Rudy Gay netted a team-high 23 points, Jonas Valanciunas tallied 18 points and 11 boards, and DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry added 17 points apiece as Toronto finished its disappointing four-game homestand with three straight losses.

The Nuggets shook off a slow start and led the entire fourth quarter, pulling away when Robinson drained a pair of back-breaking 3-pointers on consecutive possessions with under two minutes remaining to give Denver a 107-96 cushion.

The Raptors jumped out to a 27-12 lead eight minutes into the game but proceeded to score a mere 18 points the rest of the half.

Denver's bench pulled the Nuggets within 31-25 heading to the second quarter, and Ty Lawson's bucket in the final minute gave the visitors a slim 47-45 lead at the intermission.

"We got off to a sluggish start. ... It was all about our second unit," Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw said.

There were 10 ties and four lead changes in a back-and-forth third quarter, which ended with Arthur picking DeRozan's pocket in the backcourt and putting in a layup for a 76-72 Nuggets advantage.

Game Notes

The Nuggets have made eight-or-more 3-pointers in eight straight games to extend the longest streak in franchise history ... Denver opened a six-game road trip Sunday and will next visit the Nets on Tuesday ... Lawson netted 16 points with six assists ... Denver had 18 fastbreak points to Toronto's seven.